


Absorption

by viciouswishes



Category: Stargate Atlantis
Genre: F/F
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2006-04-02
Updated: 2006-04-02
Packaged: 2018-03-04 21:59:00
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,332
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/3092150
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/viciouswishes/pseuds/viciouswishes
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>For Femslash '06, Cadman should know better than to crush on another co-worker.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Absorption

**Author's Note:**

  * For [lilysaid](https://archiveofourown.org/users/lilysaid/gifts).



> Beta: monanotlisa and alizarin_nyc  
> Setting: Post-"Duet."

Cadman grew up in the military life. Her father was an officer, a dentist, and her mother a civilian botanist. Lieutenant Cadman had perfect teeth and one dying chlorophytum comosum in her quarters on Atlantis: buttoned up and regulation. And she started every morning with a brisk run. 

Morning air smelled different here, more invigorating, more salty. Like waking up with her nose nuzzled against her lover's neck. If her lover's neck included a breeze below four degrees Celsius. Not that it was colder than what she'd suffered in the places she'd lived. 

Before Atlantis, Cadman had briefly returned to her parents' home in Northern California. She missed her mother meeting her at the door with a cup of coffee after her run and talking to her about latest flower she'd seen bloom. Half the work Cadman did was classified – the system still worked under Cold War regulations – and her mother had been used to not asking. 

When Cadman ran past Rodney's office, she was disappointed not to see him. A drive-by knocking on the glass was always fun. To see him tense up as if in anticipation of a jibe. Perhaps cruel, but after living in his body, Rodney felt oddly more like a brother than a co-worker, like the sibling she'd always imagined she had, staying up all night watching _Godzilla_ movies and gossiping about drunk Uncle Andrew together. Never mind that Rodney only had a grudging respect for her. 

As she moved around another spire of Atlantis, Cadman caught a glimpse of Teyla. Teyla's blinds were open, inviting in the morning light. Her body poised in positions that reminded Cadman faintly of yoga. Teyla nodded at her and gave Cadman a soft smile of acknowledgement. 

Cadman grinned back and headed around another corner when her toe caught under a grate and she toppled down, face-first. Her throbbing knee reminded her of just why these crushes on co-workers needed to stop. Enough that Rodney would probably never forgive her for kissing Carson while in his body. 

Placing two hands underneath herself, Cadman pushed up off the grate. Thankfully, her pride was far more wounded than her knee. Especially since she already had a lunch date with Carson who would no doubt notice her slight limp and ask why, not just how and when. 

Ice. She hobbled toward the mess hall, changing her footing whenever she passed a crewman. 

With her muffin and orange juice, Cadman sat down by herself near the windows, watching the waves break against the side of Atlantis. The slow curl made her miss California and her mother's too strong, too bitter coffee. Blues in Atlantean oceans vibrated like the finger paint she'd once spread over her grandmother's kitchen table. Surreal, too saturated. She stared at them, mesmerized, ignoring how cold her hand had become on the icepack. 

Teyla had been trying to convince Sheppard to not only train his people physically but also mentally: starting with meditation. Cadman had volunteered. _No secret motive there, Lieutenant. Not at all._ But her eyes hadn't been able to stay focused on the candle. With climate control, the flame had stayed too steady. She'd felt like a kid during her first real Marine briefing with a case of the fidgets. 

The waves in front her now seemed more of a focus, more relaxing than the candle had been. 

God, what was she doing? Maybe she should've requested another transfer back to the Daedalus. Sighing, Cadman placed the icepack on the table. 

"Good morning, Lieutenant," Teyla said, coming up behind her. She carried her tray full of hash browns and eggs, or at least a close approximation of hash browns and eggs. Cadman's throat tightened, and not because of the food. "May I join you?" 

Cadman put a smile on her face that, hopefully, looked friendly and easy. "Of course." She pulled her picked-at muffin back from the middle of the table. She wondered about Teyla's culture's manners and how at ease they had been when first meeting Sheppard's team. Teyla always seemed to give everyone the benefit of the doubt, that they'd all come together peacefully to fight the Wraith. Cadman could hear Rodney, always the pessimist, recalling their dealings with the Genii. 

"Was your morning run successful?" 

"Enough to give me that push start." _Push start. God, what was her issue?_ "Clear my mind," Cadman added. Her verbal abilities were just as graceful as the fall she'd taken. 

Teyla's eyes drifted toward the icepack. "Did you hurt yourself?" 

Cadman blushed. Damn, she hadn't blushed like this since Marc Erikson flipped her skirt up in the third grade. Not even when she'd taken a shower in Rodney's body - Rodney's cheeks were always filled with rosy pigment. "Just caught my foot in a grate and toppled over. I'm pretty sure I got the swelling before it did anything. Medic skills of a track star and basic military training." 

Teyla nodded and took a sip of what Cadman assumed was tea. She seemed more visceral, too in touch with herself to be a coffee junkie like the rest of them. Cadman just couldn't see Teyla standing in line at a Starbucks for a latte and a croissant. 

"Are you available for a mediation session?" Teyla asked. 

"The Colonel already boxed it out on my schedule when you asked him for a regular time last week." Cadman thought she saw relief on Teyla's face. "Between you and me," Cadman said, "you might have some problems bringing in Rodney; he mumbled something about hippie methods. But the Colonel, he knows the practicality of your people fighting the Wraith all these years." 

***** 

The training room had been cleared of all the fighting tools; clearly, fighting was not what meditation was all about. Teyla looked up from her spot on the floor serenely, candlelight flickering on her face. "Welcome." 

Cadman joined Teyla on the almost overly comfortable pillows. While plain brown in color, they felt like silk - but Cadman figured they were actually made by the Athosians and probably from a very different fabric. And, right, all the pillow petting was possibly an excuse not to meet Teyla's eyes. 

"What are we starting with today?" Cadman asked. She made herself stare just above Teyla's eyes; a trick she'd learned when she'd served under a general with a lazy eye who became really offended when he caught his underlings looking. 

Teyla began the ritual with the same calming speech she had last time. Speeches like the waves, intended to let Cadman drift off into a relaxed headspace. She made a second attempt to focus on the candle flame. 

_Now don't let your mind wander, Lieutenant. Definitely not to the hot woman across from you._

But eventually, it did. Especially when Teyla's chanting turned into a quiet, melodic song. She had a beautiful voice. A voice that worked apparently worked better than the candle as Teyla touched Cadman's shoulder. 

"It has been an hour," Teyla said. "You were doing remarkably well. A great improvement since the last time." Her hand felt warm and comfortable against Cadman. 

Too warm and inviting: something had snapped since being in Rodney's body. The successful meditation had only led to further clarity of what she wanted and right now, that was Teyla. Cadman leaned forward and kissed Teyla. Her lips pressed against Teyla's, firm, yet yielding. Cadman pulled back. 

"What..." Teyla touched her lips in reaction. "What did you mean by that? I mean, the kiss was very enjoyable, but I am unsure about the intention behind it." 

"I don't know," Cadman said. "But I didn't want to waste the moment." Teyla only nodded in understanding. Cadman never wanted to, not in this place; whether it was about stepping through the Gate or going on a lunch date with Carson or kissing Teyla in the training room. She thought of the rolling waves of the ocean that surrounded them, gentle, compelling, yet free. Cadman, like Atlantis, felt them breaking against and molding her.


End file.
